Farming the Apartment

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Pumpkin Ale & Onion Salisbury Steak

Salisbury steak is a comfort food dish from my childhood – hamburger “steaks” simmered in a beef sauce and, at my house growing up, usually served with mashed potatoes and buttered white bread. It’s a tasty, quick dish that can be put together with pretty affordable ingredients, even leftovers. I still enjoy Salisbury steak from time to time as an adult, with a refinement or two on the original.

4 leftover hamburger patties

1 small red onion, sliced into rings

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons parsley

2 cups beef stock

½ cup pumpkin ale

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the onion rings in the butter until just starting to soften and brown around the edge, a few minutes.

2. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.

3. Slowly stir in the beef stock. Cook for 3-4 minutes until sauce starts to thicken. Stir in parsley, salt and pepper.

4. Add pumpkin ale and hamburger patties. Cover and barely simmer for about 5 minutes, until the burgers are heated through and the sauce is thickened.

I like to serve them with mashed potatoes, but you can also serve them with buttered egg noodles or spaetzle. If you like, you can also add sliced mushrooms – just add them into the butter along with the onions and cook them until lightly browned.

And if you’d like to make this dish but you don’t have leftover hamburgers in the fridge, you can make hamburger patties with one pound of ground beef, ¼ cup finely ground bread crumbs, 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce and pepper – then continue with the recipe as listed.